Welcome to the 21st Century Classroom Summer Program - the Supreme Court! external image supreme_court_building.jpg Instructors Ms. Johnson and Ms. Pember

State Standards

USI.14 Explain the characteristics of American democracy, including the concepts of popular sovereignty and constitutional government, which includes representative institutions, federalism, separation of powers, shared powers, checks and balances, and individual rights. (H, C)

USI.15 Explain the varying roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments in the United States. (H, C)

USI.19 Explain the rights and the responsibilities of citizenship and describe how a democracy provides opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process through elections, political parties, and interest groups. (H, C)

USI.21 Describe how decisions are made in a democracy, including the role of legislatures, courts, executives, and the public. (H, C)

USI.25 Trace the influence and ideas of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall and the importance of the doctrine of judicial review as manifested in Marbury v. Madison (1803). (H, C)

USII.25 Analyze the origins, goals, and key events of the Civil Rights movement. (H)
-> Events: A. Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

USG.1.5 Explain how the rule of law, embodied in a constitution limit government to protect the rights of individuals.

USG.1.6 Explain how a Constititonal democracy provides majority rule with equal protection for the rights of individuals, including those in the minority, through limited government and the rule of law.



Key Questions
According to the Constitution, are the people to be trusted with the power of governing?
How is the Constitution a constantly changing document?
What are the features of the Supreme Court?
Who is in the Supreme Court today and how do they generally rule?
What is the role of the Supreme Court in the 21st century?
How did Marbury v. Madison change the role of the Supreme Court of the United States?



Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to:
- utilize a Wikispace page for content and discussion
- define the role of the Supreme Court in our system of government
- evaluate a variety of internet resources for research
- present research findings within the classroom and digitally
- create a digital summary of information on the Supreme Court through Glogster.com
- analyze how the role of the Supreme Court changed after the case of Marbury v. Madison
- analyze how the role of the Supreme Court changed during the Warren court
- create and record a political dialogue through a podcast or video on a recent Supreme Court case



Outline of the week

Day 1 - Introduction and overview
First hour - Connect to the theme of the grant and reflect on the previous week, work on digital notebook
Second hour - Introduction to the Supreme Court: overview of what do the students already know about the court, what questions do they have, what would they like to know. glogster supreme court example
Third hour - Students learn how to research their questions and what is a reliable source to use

Day 2 - Share research
1st hour - Finish research, finalize projects with answers
2nd hour - Share research with groups, introduce glogster
3rd hour - Create glogster on what is the Supreme Court and what they have learned so far, share with other students

Day 3 - Focus on key cases
1st hour - 19th century court case (Marbury v Madison)
2nd hour - 20th century court case (Warren court). Skype if possible to other classroom
3rd hour - introduce final project and begin research on assigned recent court cases

Day 4 - Final project
1st hour - podcast on meet the press, NPR debate, discuss assigned case with group
2nd hour - Create a dialogue/skit for a debate on assigned case
3rd hour - record podcast/video of debate, with moderator, various points of view and audience questions. Create a rubric on how students
should be graded on this

Pirate Pad Link: Supreme Court:
http://piratepad.net/bJRW8rymyV


Electronic Devices for Field Trip 7/27:
Sorry everyone, no cameras or phones allowed in the courthouse. Leave your cameras at home, and your cell phones too if you can. Otherwise they will be taken and held at security during our tour